Shortly before Christmas, supermoto racer Lewis Cornish set off from his Hopton home to Singapore hoping to consolidate his lead in the 2017 FIM Asia Championships.

Joining him for the final two rounds of this all action series was top Danish racer Simon Vilhelmsen who is fourth-rated rider in the world and was sure to be a tough rival in the heat and humidity of the KF1 Circuit.

Cornish sat on pole position for race one and crossed the line with a comfortable lead.

Unfortunately mother nature put paid to race two as a tropical lightning storm forced the organisers to cancel, meaning Cornish increased his grip on the championship title which would be concluded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the following weekend.

The 25-year-old race concluded his campaign with two third places, the first after a late slip, to confirm his overall success.

The pit lane celebrations from Team KMTR erupted as Lewis did a celebratory burn-out and his father Dave shed tears of joy and relief as the reality began to sink in.

It was an amazing effort from all involved, especially from Lewis who was almost permanently jet-lagged during the season as he flew from Asia, Europe, the USA and Canada competing.

Interviewed after the final race he explained: “That was the worse race start I’ve ever had and I guess it was the nerves as I knew the championship was almost mine. It’s been the longest, toughest season ever.

“I’d like to thank Simon Rushbrooke from Tekmo Racing as well as Kenny and Justin from Kenny Motorworks plus Metzeler and VMX and all my sponsors for making all of this possible. They have been right behind me with limited budget and equipment but we have finally done it.

“I’m so pleased my dad was here to share this moment with me and we will be celebrating in style.

“It was also good to have Simon (Vilmhelmsen) here for the last two rounds. This championship is going places and I’m so happy to be part of it.

“For sure I’ll be here in 2018 to defend my title with Team KMTR and we will be better prepared for next season.”

For more information on Lewis go to www.lewiscornish.co.uk or the CRT Supermoto Facebook page.